Justine Tanya Bateman (born February 19, 1966) is an American writer, producer, and actress. She is best known for her regular role as Mallory Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties (1982-1989). Until recently, Bateman ran a production and consulting company, SECTION 5. In the fall of 2012, she started studying computer science at UCLA.

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Early life

Bateman was born in Rye, New York, United States (U.S.), to Victoria Elizabeth, a former flight attendant for Pan Am who was originally from the United Kingdom (UK), and Kent Bateman, an American acting coach, film and television writer/director, and founder of a repertory stage in Hollywood. Her younger brother is actor, director, and producer Jason Bateman, and both children supplemented their family's earnings with their adolescent television careers.

She attended Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, California. However, Bateman could not attend college due to her contractual obligations with Family Ties. According to Bateman in 2014, she was informed by the series' line producer Carol Himes, "You’re under contract to Paramount Studios."

Career

Acting

Television

Bateman's most prominent acting role began when she was a teenager, playing the role of superficial Mallory Keaton on the television sitcom Family Ties in 1982; she continued the role throughout the show's run which ended in 1989. In 1984, Bateman starred on the Tales from the Darkside television series, in the episode "Mookie and Pookie". She hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live during its 13th season in 1988.

The following year she ceased her Family Ties role, for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

In 1996, she guest starred on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as the character Sarah/Zara in four episodes — two at the end of season 3, and two at the beginning of season 4. In the 1996-97 NBC American version of the British TV comedy Men Behaving Badly, featuring Rob Schneider and Ron Eldard, she starred as Sarah, Eldard's character's girlfriend. Bateman returned to TV with the 2003 Showtime mini-series, Out of Order, alongside Eric Stoltz, Felicity Huffman, and Bill Macy.

In the third season Arrested Development episode, "Family Ties," which was broadcast in February 2006, her character is initially believed to be Michael Bluth's sister, but she turns out to be a prostitute taken advantage of by his father, and pimped by his brother. Michael Bluth was played by Bateman's real-life brother, Jason.

Also in 2006, she guest starred in the tenth episode of Men in Trees as Lynn Barstow. This became a recurring role for the following eight episodes. She also starred as Terry in the series Still Standing, To Have and to Hold, a 2006 made-for-television movie.

In 2008, she portrayed a drug dealer who rents a room from Carlos and Gabrielle Solis, in a guest role on Desperate Housewives. That same year, Bateman appeared in an episode of Showtime's Californication and made her first script sale to Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place.

In 2009, she portrayed Victoria, Lassiter's ex-wife, in USA Network's comedy series Psych and was also in the third episode of 2009's Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.

Feature films

In 1988, Bateman starred in the lead role in the motion picture Satisfaction. The film, about an all-girl musical band, also featured Julia Roberts and Liam Neeson. Bateman starred as the lead vocalist and also performed the vocals on the soundtrack.

Other media

She has acted in several web series. She acted in John August's Remnants, Illeana Douglas’ IKEA-sponsored Easy to Assemble (for which in 2010 Bateman was among the winners of the Streamy Award for Best Ensemble Cast and was nominated for a Streamy Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Web-Series), and Anthony Zuiker's digi-novel series Level 26: Dark Prophecy, in which she plays a tarot card reader.

Theater

Producer

In the fall of 2007, Bateman helped produce the Speechless campaign in support of the Writers Guild of America strike. She also launched FM78.tv, a digital production company which became the production and consulting company SECTION 5.

Bateman served not only as an actress but also as a producer on Easy to Assemble, which garnered more than 5.1 million views during its second season; created Digital Components for Level 26; served as an executive producer—with FM78.tv—on the adaptation of Lisi Harrison's teenage book series, The Clique, for a Warner Bros. internet series; and produced a film short called Z, which she promoted on her Facebook profile in January 2012.

Bateman also co-produced and co-presented with fashion maven Kelly Cutrone on their internet talk show Wake Up and Get Real (WUAGR). Described as an alternative to the television series The View, WUAGR was last broadcast in June 2011.

In a 2008 interview, Bateman claimed that television "is dead", and she reaffirmed this perspective with tech publication Gigaom in November 2010:

TV as we knew it is absolutely dead. There are still shows in production, still ad buys being made, but the numbers these shows get are a small fraction of the ratings these same type of shows used to command. The amount of TV shows produced annually decreases every year. The amount of people employed by TV shows is far less than it used to be. All these decreases are steady from year to year. Traditional TV is not "in a slump," it has been steadily declining.

Bateman further explained that "multiplatform shows that have different designs not only in their very structure, but in the manner of delivery" will replace television. However, she concluded by conceding that AM radio still existed.

Other work

On a hiatus from the entertainment business, Bateman established a clothing design company in 2000. She managed it until its closure in 2003. Justine Bateman Designs was known for one-of-a-kind hand knits. It sold to BendelsNY, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Fred Segal.

She served on the National Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild, until July 2009, when she resigned just prior to the end of her initial three-year term.

Justine Bateman also co-starred in a Dan Hartman video "Dan Hartman - I Can Dream About You" as the possible love interest of the star singer, portrayed by Dan Hartman.

Personal life

Bateman is an outspoken supporter of net neutrality. In 2008, Bateman testified before the United States Senate Commerce Committee in support of net neutrality.

Bateman is a licensed pilot of single-engine planes and a certified scuba diver.

On March 24, 2012, Bateman announced on her Twitter account that she had been accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and will begin taking classes in the northern autumn of 2012. Shortly afterward, Bateman commenced an ongoing Tumblr page titled "College Life," in which she chronicles her study of a degree in digital management and computer science—Bateman graduated in 2016.

Bateman considers her vocational interests in equivalent terms to her family life, explaining in 2014:

There’s no way I’m not doing this . When you said, "Why do you have to work?" ... I have to because I have to. This is my life. There are things I want to do. I see this incredible opportunity for entertainment to be using technology. I just look at where technology’s going and what it’s doing, and to not want to be a part of that and get on that treadmill… Honestly, I would just want to die. I wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t jump in that.

Filmography

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1982-1989

Family Ties

Mallory Keaton

176 episodes
Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series

1984

It's Your Move

Debbie

Episode: "Pajama Party"

1984

Tales from the Darkside

Susan 'Pookie' Anderson

Episode: "Mookie and Pookie"

1985

ABC Afterschool Special

Sara White

Episode: "First the Egg"

1985

Right to Kill?

Deborah Jahnke

Television movie

1985

Family Ties Vacation

Mallory Keaton

Television movie

1986

Can You Feel Me Dancing?

Karin Nichols

Television movie

1988

Satisfaction

Jennie Lee

1988

Mickey's 60th Birthday

Mallory Keaton

Television movie

1990

The Fatal Image

Megan Brennan

Television movie

1990

The Closer

Jessica Grant

1992

Deadbolt

Marty Hiller

Television movie

1992

In the Eyes of a Stranger

Lynn Carlson

Television movie

1992

Primary Motive

Darcy Link

1992

How Can I Tell If I'm Really In Love

Herself

Accidental comedy

1993

Beware of Dog

Linda Irving

1993

The Night We Never Met

Janet Beehan

1994

Terror in the Night

Robin

Television movie

1994

Another Woman

Lisa Temple

Television movie

1995

A Bucket of Blood

Carla

Television movie

1996

The Acting Thing

Unknown

Short film

1996

God's Lonely Man

Meradith

1996

Kiss & Tell

Molly McMannis

1996

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Sarah/Zara

4 episodes

1996-1997

Men Behaving Badly

Sarah Stretten

22 episodes

1997

Highball

Sandy

1999

Rugrats

Art Patron

Episode: "Opposites Attract"/"The Art Museum"

1999

Say You'll Be Mine

Chelsea

2002

Ozzy & Drix

Rota

Episode: "Gas of Doom"

2003

Out of Order

Annie

6 episodes
Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film